"Due to a series of internal operational adjustments at CHESICC, the verification services for domestic university summer school programs this summer have been suspended, which means that WES verification, which relies on CHESICC verification, will also not be possible."
In the past two days, the CheersYou（清柚教育） Bro's phone has been overwhelmed by calls from students who attended international summer schools this summer: Due to the policy adjustment at CHESICC, a number of domestic international summer schools are unable to transfer credits for students who took classes this summer, and many well-known summer school institutions have already started issuing refunds to students. With summer vacation already underway and many students halfway through their courses, everyone feels this situation is truly outrageous!
As soon as the news broke, the CheersYou（清柚教育） Bro immediately contacted CHESICC to verify the situation, and it has now been confirmed that CHESICC will no longer process transcript verification for summer course programs in the future.
What exactly happened? And what should be done?
Origin
Regarding transcript verification, China has two official institutions that can provide certification: CDGDC (China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center) and CHESICC (China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center). If the verification is obtained from either CDGDC or CHESICC, it can be successfully verified by WES (World Education Services) in the United States. Once recognized by WES, smooth credit transfer can be realized.
Due to operational adjustments, starting from January 1, 2018, CDGDC announced that it will only handle degree (namely bachelor's, master's, and doctoral) and transcript verification, and will no longer accept other requests." This notice means that from now on, CDGDC will no longer issue separate transcript verification reports for students taking cross-institutional summer school courses.
On the other hand, CHESICC began undergoing some reforms as early as 2017, with stricter academic qualifications review than before, and completed its full revamp in early June this year. Due to a series of internal operational adjustments at CHESICC, the verification services for domestic university summer school programs this summer have been suspended. This means that WES verification, which relies on CHESICC verification, will also be impossible. Although CHESICC has not yet officially issued a statement regarding the cessation of accepting overseas credits, major summer school directors have already started urgently notifying students about credit transfer solutions.
That is to say, this summer, neither CDGDC (China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center) nor CHESICC (China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center) will issue separate transcript verification reports for international students taking summer courses across institutions in China. WES verification cannot be obtained.
Affected Students
The current summer school alliances can be divided into the following three categories:
A. Taking classes at a domestic university and receiving a transcript from that domestic university
ex.: Taking classes at Beijing Jiaotong University and receiving a transcript from Beijing Jiaotong University
B. Taking classes at a domestic university and receiving a transcript from a third-party foreign university
ex.: Taking classes at Beijing Jiaotong University and receiving a transcript from Seminole State College of Florida
C. Taking classes in a third-party region (South Korea, Japan, Taiwan) and receiving a transcript from that third-party country
ex.: Taking classes at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and receiving a transcript from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
Therefore, students in Category A (taking classes at a domestic university and receiving a domestic university transcript) have already been confirmed as unable to obtain transcript verification. However, students in Category B (taking classes at a domestic university and receiving a third-party foreign university transcript) and Category C (taking classes in a third-party region (South Korea, Japan, Taiwan) and receiving a transcript from that third-party country) can still proceed normally for the time being.
Consequences
1. Unable to transfer credits, wasting time
If the summer school transcript cannot be verified by WES, it will not be possible to successfully transfer credits to the student's current university. In a certain sense, everyone's summer courses will have been taken in vain. Giving up summer internships and background enhancement opportunities to return to China for summer school, only to find that credits cannot be transferred, is truly a waste of time and energy.
2. Impact on graduate school applications
Transcripts provided by domestic campus summer schools cannot be verified by WES. Even if one spends time and effort explaining to the admissions office teachers, it will be to no avail and may even undermine the admissions teachers' first impression and goodwill.
3. Possible delayed graduation
Many students choose to take summer courses during the summer of their junior year to offset some credits, so that they can have a slightly lighter load during the busy exam-preparation and graduation season of their senior year. However, once the summer course credits cannot be transferred, the high-pressure pace they will face in their senior year is imaginable, and it may ultimately lead to an inability to graduate on time.
Emergency Response Plan
International students currently enrolled in summer school courses are advised to ask their home universities whether WES verification is required for credit recognition. If WES verification is not mandatory, they can request their course grades and a series of supporting documents from the summer school before the course ends to provide to the university for reference. This solution is only applicable to students who do not have plans for graduate studies; if there are graduate school application needs, WES verification is still required.
If the university requires WES verification to transfer credits, it is recommended to communicate with the summer school institution as soon as possible. If time permits, arrange to transfer to an overseas campus. If coordination is impossible, the only option is to negotiate a refund with the summer school and prepare to retake the courses.
Students who previously attended summer school but have not yet obtained transcript verification should also pay attention! Locate the summer school you attended as soon as possible and request the verified transcript.
CheersYou（清柚教育） Assistance Hotline
In response to CHESICC's operational adjustments, CheersYou（清柚教育） immediately contacted CHESICC to verify the situation and has already notified some CheersYou（清柚教育） students. Currently, some overseas universities have been informed of this news and will successively make corresponding adjustments to credit transfer and application requirements for graduate school verification materials. If your university is still unaware of this information, you are welcome to provide CheersYou（清柚教育） with the contact details of relevant departments at your university, and CheersYou（清柚教育） will explain the situation to the school on your behalf.
The CheersYou（清柚教育） Bro has already prepared an email template for everyone to communicate with the school about the reform in summer school credit verification.
We hope this article can help you. If you have any other questions about study abroad applications or essay writing, you can add "CheersYou（清柚教育） Bro (WeChat ID: qingyouge23)" for consultation~
